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January 26, 2017 by Susanna Bean

JuST Conference 2017 Goes to New Orleans!

We’re thrilled to announce that our 2017 JuST Conference is moving to a fun new location: New Orleans!

[easy-tweet tweet=”We’re thrilled to announce the 2017 JuST Conference is moving to a fun new location: New Orleans!” user=”SharedHope”]

Shared Hope is committed to offering you an improved conference experience each year. While we have loved our four years in D.C., we’ve been limited by function space and available amenities. In light of our dedication to excellence, our desire to reach new professionals, and our commitment to keeping the conference affordable, we’re packing our bags and heading to The Big Easy. Here is a city that knows a little something about perseverance, strength and beating trauma. We hope you’ll get a taste of that spirit in October. But location isn’t the only change!

Securing more space means we can offer a broader range of workshops and a more well-rounded conference for all attendees. This year, we’ve ditched the pre-conference in favor of offering 2.5 days of training and plenaries that appeal to all professionals. We’re also pleased to offer breakfast, lunch, and free wifi access for every attendee. As usual, your ticket will provide entry to the full conference as well as the annual networking happy hour.

We’ll be selecting workshops that focus on skill-building, survivor experiences, cross-discipline collaboration, case studies and lessons learned in the areas of investigation, prosecution and therapeutic services.

If you want to join this year’s training team download a presenter application here.

Last, but not least, we picked a city that has the best music and cuisine in America! So, we hope you’ll get out and explore a little. The city is rich in history, entertainment, and local flair.

Check out all the details for registration, conference agenda, hotel, transportation and more, at our JuST Conference website! And sign up here to get a registration reminder. Join us October 24-26 in New Orleans!

January 26, 2017 by Guest

Becoming a Student Activist

As I grew up in the Northern Virginia area, I had no idea that children were being bought and sold for sex up and down the I-95 corridor just miles away from my childhood home and eventual college campus. I, like many people, was introduced to the issue of sex trafficking by unwittingly watching a documentary. Outraged by realities I had never been forced to consider, I immediately wanted to take action and create change. When it comes to an issue as vast as sex trafficking, it can be daunting to know where to even begin. You have passion, ideas, and know you can make a difference. If the question is “where do I start?” the answer is simple: where you are.

[easy-tweet tweet=”If the question is “where do I start?” the answer is simple: where you are.” user=”sharedhope” hashtags=”HTAwarenessMonth” url=”http://bit.ly/2knVDhJ”]

Being a student activist can be tough, but is not impossible. In an attempt to positively channel my outrage about sex trafficking, I worked directly with my university to start a grassroots effort within my campus community designed to develop student activists engaged in educating others about the realities of sex trafficking. Our group worked to provide our community with informational materials, documentary screenings on campus, and open conversations about difficult topics. While researching anything and everything I could find on the issue, I found Shared Hope’s website and was amazed by not only the scope of their work, but also the amount of resources available to me at no cost. Later that year I applied to the Arlington, VA office internship program for the summer 2013 semester and was selected; it’s an understatement to say that my internship experience at Shared Hope changed my life.

[easy-tweet tweet=”Young people are the future of the anti-trafficking movement.” user=”SharedHope” hashtags=”HTAwarenessMonth” url=”http://bit.ly/2knVDhJ”]

I am now a Shared Hope staff member, but because of my internship experience, one of my absolute favorite parts of my job is coordinating the Arlington, VA office internship program. Young people are the future of the anti-trafficking movement and their engagement is critical. Our interns consistently amaze me with their hard work, eagerness to learn, and unlimited talents. Each and every one of our incredible interns has played a crucial role by donating their time, contributing new ideas, working extensively with SHI staff on emerging projects. As a young person, it is imperative for you to know that your passion and efforts matter, your voice and experience matters, and you matter more than you know in the fight to combat sex trafficking. Shared Hope has quarterly undergraduate internship programs in both offices (Vancouver, WA and Arlington, VA) and would love for you to apply.

Learn more about our internship program and view application requirements: http://sharedhope.org/about-us/join-our-team/internship/

By Katie Shaver – Shared Hope International Program & Intern Coordinator

January 18, 2017 by Susanna Bean

Homeless Youth & Trafficking in Arizona

Any child in the US could be at risk of being trafficked, but a new study released this winter by the Arizona State University School of Social Work, and funded by the McCain Institute for International Leadership, highlights youth who face multiple vulnerabilities putting them at high risk for trafficking.

Homeless Arizona young adults, ages 18-25, were interviewed for this study. Of the 199 homeless youth surveyed, one-third identified themselves as victims of sex trafficking. By gender, 1 out of every 3 female study participants, and 1 out of 4 male respondents self-reported that they had been sex trafficked.

“When asked if they had been pressured or forced into having sex for money, drugs, food, clothing, a place to stay or for protection, 66 young homeless adults – one in three – identified as being a sex trafficking victim.” ¹

It is not just homelessness that puts these youth at risk, but a confluence of factors. The study found that drug and alcohol addiction, mental health issues or a history of dating violence or physical, sexual or emotional abuse are all vulnerabilities that traffickers seek to exploit. Particularly concerning is the use of technology, and in particular the internet, to facilitate the exploitation of youth.

“Technology was found to have played a role in the sex trafficking victimization as respondents indicated that sex traffickers used smart phones, social media, websites like Backpage.com and Craigslist.org and apps like Tinder to reach sex buyers.”¹

Buyers’ increasingly easy access to trafficked youth via the internet highlights the need to address the demand for sex with minors. In 2015 Shared Hope published a field assessment analyzing demand in Arizona. The Demanding Justice Arizona Field Assessment explored criminal justice outcomes and dynamics, making recommendations for how the state can further combat demand to protect children from sex trafficking.

As a result of this research, Shared Hope advocates for strong anti-demand laws and enforcement to be implemented across the nation. We also join the call to action of this study to focus interventions for sex trafficked youth on runaway and homeless youth and on the role of the internet in facilitating the sex trafficking of youth across the socio-economic spectrum.

With continued research, strengthened laws and trained professionals we can reach our vision of a world intolerant of sex trafficking and a community committed to restoring survivors.

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¹All quotes come from the McCain Institute for International Leadership press release.

January 11, 2017 by Jo Lembo

You Never Know Who’s In Your Audience

Sometimes grassroots activists feel like they aren’t having a huge impact. Let me share two stories that may motivate you to keep on keeping on!

In 2009 there was a presentation on sex trafficking at the WA state criminal justice training center – a relatively new topic to the general public at the time. The leader from a local church security team attended as a matter of continuing his education on the threats against the youth in his church. After the first general session, he called one of his pastors and said, “You need to come down here and hear this. Our kids are at risk and we know nothing about this!” Clearing her schedule, the pastor arrived just in time to attend the community advocates workshop with Shared Hope International’s project manager. Following that workshop, the Renting Lacy book was distributed to each attendee.

The pastor took home the book and couldn’t put it down; becoming convinced she had to do something. That pastor was me (Jo Lembo). Today I work full-time for Shared Hope International and my husband’s life is also dedicated to fighting sex trafficking. Our head of security had no idea he was introducing me to my life’s calling. And that presenter had no idea that her presentation would completely alter the course of our lives. You never know the impact of the conversation you’re having. Who have you talked to?

[easy-tweet tweet=”You never know the impact of the conversation you’re having. – Shared Hope International Blog by Jo Lembo”]

Shortly after reading the book Renting Lacy, my husband and I met Linda Smith and her husband, Vern. I was passionate about making a difference, but felt I had no skills to truly make an impact. I said to her, “I’m not really making a difference. All I do is talk. I talk to my hairdresser, to my neighbors, to our friends (we could bring down a dinner party in two minutes by sharing ‘what is happening right now just a few miles from this restaurant…’) But I don’t want to be just be a talking head!”

Linda’s response is now the byline for the Ambassadors nationwide. She said, “Never underestimate the power of educating others. The more people who know the signs of trafficking, the smaller the world becomes for those who buy and sell our children.”

Since that encounter, I have learned to share the message with hope and not stop at telling about the issue, but to share what you can DO about it. As the National Outreach Manager, it is my privilege to empower and equip the nearly 1000 Ambassadors nationwide who are ‘talking’ about the issue everywhere they go.

So if you feel ordinary, that’s exactly what we need! People like you to know the signs and what to do to prevent sex trafficking.

Become a trained Ambassador of Hope and make a difference!

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This blog is the first in a Shared Hope Blog Series for Human Trafficking Awareness Month. Stop back throughout the month to our New & Events page to read them all!

January 10, 2017 by Christine Raino

Backpage.com Shuts Down “Adult” Section as Victims Pursue Justice

Overnight, Backpage.com announced the shutdown of its “adult services” section of the classifieds website. This announcement came on the eve of Backpage.com’s executives and general counsel appearing at a hearing today before the U.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (PSI) to answer questions about the committee’s report stating that Backpage.com knowingly posted advertisements for the sale of sex trafficked children. Citing statistics from Shared Hope International and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children that help demonstrate the scope of child sex trafficking occurring online, Senator Portman explained that the PSI report released this week provides substantial evidence that Backpage.com not only allowed advertisements for sex with children to be posted, but that the company employed “editing practices” that sanitized those advertisements and hid the sex trafficking of children from public view, and potentially from law enforcement.

When Backpage.com executives appeared on Capitol Hill this morning to testify before the subcommittee about the company’s participation in facilitating online sex trafficking, they declined to answer questions, asserting protections under the First and Fifth Amendments. While Backpage.com executives refused to testify, families of trafficking survivors testified and shared the stories of their collective 14 years fighting for their children who were trafficked on Backpage.com. Holding back tears, the parents of child sex trafficking survivors testified about the harm done to their children in an effort to help protect other children being exploited online through websites like Backpage.com. Senator McCaskill stated at today’s hearing, “We now know as a result of our legal battle that they did not turn away ads of children…they just tried to sanitize it…That is the definition of evil.”

Linda Smith, Shared Hope International President and Founder said after attending the hearing, “I was moved by the heartbreaking stories of these families who suffered immense pain as a result of their children being sold on Backpage.com. Their stories make it clear, even though we celebrate the closure of Backpage.com’s adult section, we can’t stop fighting until victims get the legal justice they deserve and Backpage.com can no longer hide behind the Communications Decency Act.”

Today’s events come on the heels of Monday’s US Supreme Court denial of review of victims’ claims in Does v. Backpage.com, and as Backpage.com executives turn their focus to tomorrow’s arraignment on new criminal charges in California.

Shared Hope International has been on the front lines advocating for laws to combat the widespread sex trafficking of children online, particularly through classified sites like Backpage.com. There are many fronts to this battle and Shared Hope remains committed to the victims’ pursuit of justice, as well as preventing further exploitation of children by establishing civil and criminal liability for these crimes.